Impact of telemedicine on antenatal care at a teaching institution in Eastern India: An insight into the future of better India.

OBJECTIVES: Telemedicine (TM) emergence has been profound in using technology to address the problems of obstetrics in remote and rural places, especially in low-risk pregnancy. Through this study, we made an effort to assess the satisfaction level and concerns of antenatal and postnatal patients who availed the telemedicine facility during the study period. We also made an effort to facilitate improved access to antenatal and postnatal care, especially the low-risk pregnancies through telemedicine for patients from remote areas of eastern India that do not have the availability of specialists.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Primary data were collected by means of a telephonic survey of all the antenatal patients who used telemedicine services of AIIMS, Kalyani, based on a preformed questionnaire.

RESULTS: A total of 80 antenatal patients gave consent to participate in the study. Most of the patients were from the upper lower class [43.75%] followed by the lower middle class [35%]. The average gestational age of respondents was 23.95 weeks. Seventy-one out of 80 patients felt that the appointment was made within a reasonable time. Only 12 patients [15.3%] had waiting time greater than 10 min. The average waiting time was 6.93 min. 56.3% of respondents felt that the person who attended their call was very cooperative. 86.3% of respondents strongly agreed that the consultant was able to understand their health issues completely. Eighty percent of the respondents said that they would like to continue using telemedicine in the future. There is a significant difference between those preferring to use telemedicine in the future and those who do not prefer telemedicine in the future. Poor internet facility and privacy were prominent reasons for not opting for telemedicine in the future by some respondents.

CONCLUSION: From this study, it was concluded that TM certainly has great potential to make health care accessible to people residing in rural and far-off places.